It is believed to be a false alarm, but the tests and preventive measures are ongoing
Fear of a leak of ammonia, a gas used to cool the space station and flowing through closed pipes required a partial evacuation of the American crew members to the Russian wing this morning, (January 14) at 04:00 EST (11:00 Israel time). The openings between the two parts of the station were also hermetically closed until further inspection.
All six crew members - from the USA, Italy and Russia - are safe and in good condition, say NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency - Roscosmos.
Flight controllers are now evaluating whether this is a real leak or a false alarm due to a broken sensor or computer problem. As of 9 am Eastern Time (17:00 Israel time) it is believed to be a false alarm.
"The safety of the crew members was preserved thanks to the correct actions carried out by the personnel of the control centers in Moscow and Houston. After the hatches are closed, the control center in Houston will handle the event.
Ammonia is a toxic gas used to cool the space station and is essential to the operation of the station. There have already been ammonia leaks in the space station.
"The flight controllers in Houston saw an increase in the pressure of the water loops at the station in one of the heat control systems. Later, an increase in air pressure was also recorded inside the passenger compartment, which may indicate an ammonia leak," said a NASA statement.
Therefore, as a preventive measure following the alarm, the crew members were instructed to isolate themselves in the Russian part of the station, and to shut down non-essential systems in the American area in accordance with the established guidelines for such cases.
Members of the 42nd crew, Commander Barry Wilmore and communications engineer James Kelly said that flight controllers analyzed their data, but said it was not known whether the alarm was triggered due to a leak or due to a fault in a sensor or in the computer system responsible for sending data and commands to many systems on the station.
The evacuation comes just two days after SpaceX's private Dragon cargo spacecraft arrived safely at the station.
The International Space Station has been manned continuously for 15 years.
3 תגובות
Israel imports ammonia to a facility in Haifa. There is an intention to build a plant that will produce ammonia from natural gas in Israel. For now the initiative is stuck ("really surprising"). The plant was supposed to be built in the Negev so that no one would be endangered.
An article full of gross spelling errors. sad.
To Beit Alfa - road 669 ... to Alfa station - air rescue unit 669. Also in mysticism